Connecting Muncie Neighborhood partners and resources
In this project, Ball State University graduate students worked to manage and organize Big Read activities in Muncie, Indiana. The Big Read is a project which aims to promote reading activities among citizens in local communities. The students learned a variety of organizational and management theories and strategies and put them into practice by marketing and organizing The Big Read program.
The playground began as a seed, an idea that grew at each monthly neighborhood association meeting. The Blaine/Southeast Neighborhood Association formed only a few short years ago in 2011 under the direction of Clifford Clemmons. Supported by a small group of dedicated residents, the association worked with Ball State University urban planning students under the direction of faculty member Lisa Dunaway to develop a neighborhood action plan. The Blaine/Southeast Neighborhood Action plan, finalized in December 2014 provided key information that reinforced the neighbors’ belief that Blaine/Southeast lacked adequate play space for its youth. Located on the far east side of the city, the neighborhood sits removed from Muncie’s established parks and playgrounds.
Planning for the neighborhood playground began in earnest in winter 2014 after the association was successful in attaining a $15,000 KaBoom playground grant. A committee of residents worked diligently to find funding to match the KaBoom grant, to plan for the Community Build Day and to clear the overgrown field where the playground would eventually be built. With the efforts spearheaded by Clemmons and Isabelle Sowers, Muncie Action Plan Volunteer Coordinator, Spring and Summer 2015 were busy with fundraisers and cleanups leading up to the September 12th Build Day.
Build Day was attended by dozens of volunteers who successfully erected a portion of the playground, with the final construction occurring throughout the following few weeks. The October 16th ribbon cutting was well attended by residents, volunteers and city officials. Since October, the playground committee has continued to fundraise for the purchase of mulch and landscaping as well as other necessities like lighting and signage through their GoFundMe site. The Neighborhood Association understands that the playground is a community asset, but one that will require constant oversight and maintenance. Association members are committed to creating a play space that is well-loved and well-used by neighborhood children for years to come.
Muncie’s Whitely Community Council is recognized as the most productive and inspiring neighborhood association in Muncie, due in large part to the tireless leadership of Cornelius and Mary Dollison and other committed members of the Whitely neighborhood. Since 1966, the Council has overseen improvement projects in seven strategic areas: safety, education and health, infrastructure, employment and business support, neighborhood pride and event planning, resource development and fundraising, and advertising and public relations. The council meets on the second Monday of every month, with a consistent attendance of 60-70 individuals.
Muncie’s Primacy of Place Video Series was produced by Ball State Student Media and funded by the Ball Brothers Foundation. The series explores six main ‘pillars’ of quality of life: Parks and Recreation, Neighborhood Development, Farm to Table, Volunteerism, Education, and Philanthropy.
Research and practice shows the single most important element in strengthening local economies is attracting and retaining talented individuals. This requires not only good jobs and schools, but attention to the quality of life in individual communities. Primacy of Place describes a community’s strategic decision to dedicate resources to improving life experiences for residents, businesses and visitors. Read more about Ball State’s Primacy of Place initiative.
Associate Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Sociology, Melinda Messineo, led several groups of Ball State students in sociological Immersive Learning projects around the city. Organizations partnered included the United Way of Muncie and Delaware County, Edible Muncie, and the Muncie Redevelopment Commission. In these projects, students worked with their community partners to gather information about literacy opportunities in build spaces (United Way) food scarcity and pantry use (Edible Muncie) and residential decision making processes for young professionals (Muncie redevelopment). The data will be used to inform programs for each of the partners over the next year.
